The Elements Review: Interwoven Narratives of Pain
Twelve-year-old Freya stays with her preoccupied mother in Cornwall when she encounters 14-year-old twins. "Nothing better than being aware of a secret," they advise her, "comes from possessing one of your own." In the time that ensue, they sexually assault her, then bury her alive, a mix of unease and annoyance flitting across their faces as they finally liberate her from her temporary coffin.
This could have served as the disturbing focal point of a novel, but it's only one of many awful events in The Elements, which collects four short novels – issued distinctly between 2023 and 2025 – in which characters negotiate historical pain and try to achieve peace in the present moment.
Controversial Context and Thematic Exploration
The book's issuance has been overshadowed by the addition of Earth, the second novella, on the longlist for a notable LGBTQ+ writing prize. In August, nearly all other nominees pulled out in dissent at the author's debated views – and this year's prize has now been terminated.
Conversation of LGBTQ+ matters is absent from The Elements, although the author addresses plenty of significant issues. Anti-gay prejudice, the influence of mainstream and online outlets, caregiver abandonment and assault are all explored.
Distinct Narratives of Suffering
- In Water, a grieving woman named Willow transfers to a remote Irish island after her husband is imprisoned for awful crimes.
- In Earth, Evan is a footballer on court case as an accomplice to rape.
- In Fire, the grown-up Freya manages revenge with her work as a doctor.
- In Air, a father travels to a burial with his young son, and considers how much to reveal about his family's history.
Pain is layered with trauma as hurt survivors seem destined to meet each other repeatedly for eternity
Related Stories
Relationships proliferate. We first meet Evan as a boy trying to leave the island of Water. His trial's panel contains the Freya who reappears in Fire. Aaron, the father from Air, collaborates with Freya and has a child with Willow's daughter. Minor characters from one story reappear in homes, bars or legal settings in another.
These plot threads may sound tangled, but the author is skilled at how to propel a narrative – his earlier popular Holocaust drama has sold numerous units, and he has been converted into many languages. His direct prose shines with thriller-ish hooks: "ultimately, a doctor in the burns unit should be wiser than to experiment with fire"; "the primary step I do when I reach the island is alter my name".
Character Portrayal and Narrative Strength
Characters are sketched in brief, effective lines: the empathetic Nigerian priest, the disturbed pub landlord, the daughter at struggle with her mother. Some scenes echo with tragic power or insightful humour: a boy is punched by his father after wetting himself at a football match; a biased island mother and her Dublin-raised neighbour swap jabs over cups of diluted tea.
The author's talent of transporting you completely into each narrative gives the return of a character or plot strand from an prior story a genuine excitement, for the first few times at least. Yet the cumulative effect of it all is dulling, and at times nearly comic: pain is layered with suffering, chance on accident in a bleak farce in which hurt survivors seem destined to bump into each other continuously for forever.
Thematic Complexity and Final Evaluation
If this sounds less like life and more like limbo, that is part of the author's point. These wounded people are burdened by the crimes they have endured, stuck in routines of thought and behavior that agitate and descend and may in turn harm others. The author has talked about the impact of his personal experiences of harm and he describes with understanding the way his cast traverse this perilous landscape, striving for solutions – seclusion, cold ocean swims, reconciliation or refreshing honesty – that might provide clarity.
The book's "fundamental" structure isn't particularly informative, while the rapid pace means the discussion of social issues or digital platforms is primarily surface-level. But while The Elements is a imperfect work, it's also a completely engaging, victim-focused saga: a valued rebuttal to the typical obsession on detectives and criminals. The author demonstrates how suffering can permeate lives and generations, and how years and care can quieten its aftereffects.
